Reading Eagle: Ben Hasty |
Members of Albright College's esports team practice for the next competition as a collegiate level sport.

Reading Eagle: Ben Hasty |
Francesca Horner, 18, a freshman Crime and Justice and Game Simulation and Design major from Severn MD, practices with the rest of the eSports team. At the Albright College Schumo Center in Reading Wednesday afternoon April 10, 2019 during a practice for the school's eSports team that is in their first season.

Reading Eagle: Ben Hasty |
Albright College student Markus Hamilton, 20, is laser-focused while practicing with other members of the college's esports team at the Schumo Center for Fitness and Well-Being on campus.

Reading Eagle: Ben Hasty |
Marcus Vargas, 21, from Philadelphia, practices with other members of the eSports team. At the Albright College Schumo Center in Reading Wednesday afternoon April 10, 2019 during a practice for the school's eSports team that is in their first season.

130 colleges nationwide compete in esports, now Berks has joined the athletic evolution [Video]

Twice a week, the players are in the gym doing physical training. There are strategy sessions, scouting efforts and team-building exercises.

Weekends are for matches.

Don't tell the members of Albright College's inaugural esports teams that they don't play a real sport.

Professional video game playing, known as esports, has exploded into a half-billion-dollar industry with no signs of slowing. Professional tournaments pack thousands of fans into arenas and draw millions of online viewers.

And over the past few years, a collegiate version has followed suit, with more than 130 schools across the nation boasting varsity programs in competitive video gaming. This spring, Albright joined those ranks, fielding its first school-recognized varsity teams in esports. As a varsity sport, the program is funded by the college.

The training is rigorous, the competition heated. And the 16 students who make up the esports teams at Albright love it.

“I was always into video games,” said Francesca Horner, 18, a freshman from Severn, Md. “Esports gives me an opportunity to play in a more competitive environment with a team."

Saying that Albright now has an esports team is a bit of a misstatement. Students actually compete in three separate games — League of Legends, Overwatch and Hearthstone — which are like three entirely different sports, said Jason Hoerr, the school's operations manager, who is at the moment serving as de facto coach for all three.

There are intricacies to each game, charters to learn, skills to master, strategy to perfect. For example, in League of Legends, players can choose to play with one of 140 different characters.

“The one thing I'd like people to understand is it's as complex as any other sport out there,” Hoerr said. “It's not Wii tennis.

Each game has a collegiate season in spring and fall, each lasting two or three weeks, followed by postseason play. The teams also take part in various tournaments. Though they are the new kids on the block, the Albright teams have steadily improved throughout their seasons.

“It was definitely a building season,” said Molly Dallas, 21, a freshman from Newark, Del. “We're getting our feet under us.”

Hoerr feels differently.

“We did fantastic,” he said. “We did freaking fantastic. They will undersell themselves.”

Overall, the League of Legends team went 3-3 in its inaugural season, and the Hearthstone team went 2-5. The Overwatch team is still in the midst of its season.

The Overwatch and League of Legends teams also took part in the Pennsylvania Cup, a tournament for schools across the state hosted by Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. The Overwatch team went 1-1 and the League of Legends team went 2-1.

As the players' skills developed throughout their seasons, so did the physical space on campus where they practice and play. At the beginning of the season, they were forced to use one of the college's computer labs.

But now, the teams have their own space inside the Schumo Center for Fitness and Well-Being, decked out with special Alienware gaming computers and incredibly comfortable gaming chairs. Some televisions are mounted on the wall with more still to come, as well as a refrigerator.

“We're really excited about that,” Dallas said.

'More legitimacy'

Having their own space, where they practice and play all of their matches through the magic of the internet, has given the esports teams a sense of pride and belonging.

“I feel like it gives us a little more legitimacy at the school,” Dallas said.

“It makes us more seen as a real varsity sport,” Horner added.

Hoerr said there are plans to continue to expand the programs. The school is looking for coaches for each of the three games and plans to amp up its recruiting process.

The newness of the program, and of the sport, has the athletes at Albright speaking with energy and hope about their teams. They can't help but brim about the future of esports.

The sport, although growing at a rapid rate, is still in its infancy. And being there to see it all come together, to be part of the evolution, is exhilarating.

“It's the Wild West,” Hoerr said. “And that's both interesting and intriguing and annoying all in the same moment.”

Contact David Mekeel: 610-371-5014 or dmekeel@readingeagle.com.

What are esports?

Esports, or electronic sports, involve competition using video games. Typically, two teams compete in multiplayer contests. Teams can be in the same location or play via the internet.

The NCAA, the governing body for collegiate sports, does not currently sponsor collegiate esports. However the association has been studying the issue and has shown interest in creating an esports championship.

Instead, collegiate esports are organized by the National Association of Collegiate Esports, a nonprofit membership association.

League of Legends: A multiplayer online battle arena game. Players assume the role of an unseen “summoner,” who controls a “champion” with unique abilities. They battle against a team of other players.

Overwatch: A team-based multiplayer first-person shooter game. Players are assigned into two teams of six, with each player selecting from a roster of 30 characters, known as “heroes.” Each hero has a unique style of play, and roles are divided into three general categories that fit the individual styles. Players on a team work together to secure and defend control points on a map or escort a payload across the map in a limited time.

Hearthstone: A collectible card game. Hearthstone is a turn-based card game between two opponents, using constructed decks of 30 cards and a selected hero with a unique power. Players use their limited “mana crystals” to play abilities or summon minions to attack the opponent, with the goal of destroying the opponent's hero.